Linoleum is a floorcovering developed in 1863 by Frederick Walton, and mainly composed of oxidatively polymerized linseed oil, tree resins (colophonium), cork flour and wood flour, titanium oxide, dyes, and a jute textile. Advantages of linoleum are mainly the resistance to oils, fats, and tar. Linoleum is antistatic and has slightly fungicidal and bacteriostatic action with regard to various microorganisms. The cause of this effect is the ongoing emission of small amounts of various aldehydes, such as hexanal, acrolein, acetaldehyde, etc., which derive from atmospheric oxidation of linseed oil, which continues practically infinitely, or are residues from the oxidation reaction in the production process.
Examples of disadvantages of linoleum are that the typical linoleum odor has been demonstrated to be capable of triggering mucosal irritation and allergies in sensitive persons. Linoleum is moreover not very resistant to point loads, and is not suitable for use in wetrooms. Linoleum is moreover very easily damaged by alkalis and is chemically degraded by these.
Because petroleum reserves are becoming ever smaller, there is a constant demand for materials that can be obtained from naturally renewable resources. The mechanical properties, such as stiffness, load resistance, and mechanical and chemical resistance, of these materials should be equivalent to those of synthetically produced thermoplastic molding compositions known from the prior art. It is preferable that these thermoplastic molding compositions prepared from renewable raw materials have at least 50% of ingredients derived from natural sources. The costs for these new molding compositions should be comparable with those for synthetic molding compositions. The new thermoplastic molding compositions should moreover comply with the regulations and requirements for plastics used in the context of foods.
JP 03-241083 of Tajima Inc. discloses a floorcovering and a process for its production. This floorcovering is obtained by mixing a polymerizable vegetable oil, such as linseed oil, a thermoplastic elastomer, such as a styrene elastomer or styrene-butadiene block copolymer, a curing agent, such as trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, and a filler, such as cork powder or wood chips, and converting them to the desired shape, and then irradiating them with high-energy radiation, for example, with UV radiation. The resultant material does not comprise any particles, but instead is composed of a relatively homogeneous, cured composition, which cannot then undergo any further thermoplastic processing.